


A Spark Is All It Takes

by Sang_Hyogi



Category: Baekyeol - Fandom, Chanbaek - Fandom, EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: AU, Drabble, Firefighters, M/M, Oneshot, Romance, Slice of Life, UUUUHHHH, ahahaha get it, based on a real life fire guys it's pretty lit, fun stuff, implied!sesoo, lit, other stuff, um
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-05-19 04:22:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14866526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sang_Hyogi/pseuds/Sang_Hyogi
Summary: A head had just hit the plush pillows tossed about the bed when the first tones went off. A groan left cracked lips, as the handheld sitting in its charger let out a low, long, continuous tone, followed by three high pitch ones. Standing up, Chanyeol was already pulling on his jeans that he had previously taken off, before the 9-1-1 operator came through in that same, monotonic voice.“… Station 20, respond to a working structure fire, in assistance to Station 34, House number 128; 32nd street, operations FD-04.”





	A Spark Is All It Takes

**Author's Note:**

> So the fire in this story is real. It happened about two months ago pretty late and it was super cold outside and my fingers almost froze off while I was chasing around the firemen of Station 20 to take pictures.   
> I am a trained professional do not just randomly go and take pictures of burning buildings.
> 
> Cross posted from AFF.

A head had just hit the plush pillows tossed about the bed when the first tones went off. A groan left cracked lips, as the handheld sitting in its charger let out a low, long, continuous tone, followed by three high pitch ones. Standing up, Chanyeol was already pulling on his jeans that he had previously taken off, before the 9-1-1 operator came through in that same, monotonic voice.

“… Station 20, respond to a working structure fire, in assistance to Station 34, House number 128; 32nd street, operations FD-04.”

After throwing on his job shirt, grabbing the radio and clipping it to his waistband, Chanyeol was rushing out the door, making sure to text one of the guys on the overnight shift to put his gear in one of the trucks. By the words coming from the handheld, the fire seemed to be under control, but vast. It seemed routine, but Chanyeol wouldn’t know for sure until he arrived on scene.

Ten minutes later, and he was there, parking his car as close to the scene as he could; with the hoses leading from hydrants, creating a maze to step over. The smoke rose into the night sky like a mass, the blaze illuminated by the harsh lights equipped on the tanker trucks, offering the sufficient lightning for the firefighters to work. Chanyeol hopped out, and began jogging towards the red truck, with the number 20 decaled on the back of it.

Sehun was just hopping out of the driver’s seat, seeming to be the one who pulled Station 20’s rescue on scene. He caught sight of the taller and motioned him over.

“Your gear is here!” He called over, and the older couldn’t help but think how convenient. Sehun was already geared up and was pulling his oxygen tank and apparatus out of the back so he was fully prepared.

After years on the job, it only took Chanyeol four minutes to fully gear up. He threw his apparatus over his shoulders and made his way further on scene. Looking around for Junmyeon, the chief of Station 20, he awaited orders on exactly what he needed to do. It wasn’t hard to find him, due to his obnoxious white helmet. Before he could even speak, the older was shoving a halligan hook into his hands and pointing.

“Station 34 is short handed tonight; they got some guys on the back side of the house. Take that and start pulling the siding down. They should’ve already busted out the windows, but we need to get this thing under control and the more open it is, the better.”

Junmyeon spoke loudly – and clearly – leaving Chanyeol to only nod in understanding.

“Be careful, keep your radio close. We got some guys in the building already, and you may need to switch out with them when they come in for an oxygen change.” And with that, the chief patted his shoulder and sent him off.

Chanyeol needed no more than that. Hiking up the strap to his apparatus, halligan hook in hand, he made his way to where Junmyeon said his assistance was needed. Wrapping around the building, that was predominately smoke right now, not enough openings to release open flame, Chanyeol came across three other men. Not one of them were from his station, but that didn’t pose a problem to him.

Through a visor, one man looked up, and smiled in an almost relieved manner. His shield had the telltale station number on it, and the last name Byun in the bottom strip. He waved Chanyeol over, so he could speak above the roar of the hoses, which were pumping water at a high velocity.

“My name’s Baekhyun!” He called to the taller, “I’m the lieutenant at Station 34. You sent over this way, I hope?” He inquired, which Chanyeol responded with a nod.  
The shorter clapped his hands together and began pointed and talking.

“Great! I need you to start tearing at that siding. My guys will have the hose following your movement. All that fire is contained in the building and has no escape right now. We’ve got men inside and need to ventilate it as much as possible. What’s your name, Park?”

Chanyeol nearly spluttered at the question followed by the orders, and the use of his last name. Everything was moving so fast, as was the case with scenes like this.

“Chanyeol,” he responded after a movement, and received a clap on the back similar to what Junmyeon had done moments prior.  
“Nice to meet ya, Chanyeol! Now let’s get this beast under control!”

Chanyeol found the man to be a bit too chipper for a structure fire, but he figured people dealt with late night work in different ways. Moving forward, he began his task of ripping down the white siding with the hook, and the spray from the hose followed after. The heat was intense, this close to the building, and Chanyeol was glad it was a chilly night. It combated the blaze and left him from feeling overwhelmed.

He heard a distant beeping – someone’s oxygen tank needed changed – and he glanced over briefly to see where it was coming from. Just a few feet away, two men were coming from the side door of the house. Steam rose off them, as their hot gear met the chilly air of the outside. Too focused on trying to figure out who the two men were, Chanyeol barely heard the call from Baekhyun.

“Watch out!” Came his quick shout, and the taller flicked his eyes over, and then up. The gutter of the house had begun to bow, and bend from the house. The tiling of the roof unable to slow down it’s detachment from the structure. Chanyeol’s eyebrows furrowed, unable to comprehend the situation for some odd reason. The metal creaked, and then it was falling.

A harsh tug on the back of his gear sent him falling backwards, and out of harms way. A gloved hand was quickly running over him, without hesitation, as if looking for injuries.

“Fuck, are you okay?” Came the voice of Station 34’s lieutenant, as he looked Chanyeol over. “You were just staring, were you not gonna move? Believe it or not, that shit’s heavy and your helmet can only protect you from so much.”

The taller was taken aback by the obvious concern lacing the other’s tone – and the excessive amount of curses leaving his lips. His eyebrows furrowed. Was this guy always like this? He seemed extra touchy feely, considering they had just met. But this close, behind the soot and the smoke that came from the burning building, Chanyeol could make out the face of this other fireman.

Baekhyun was pretty, for a guy who fought fires for a living. His face was unblemished, and his eyes seemed to sparkle behind a thick set of eyelashes. His lips were a soft shade of pink, and a perfect shape; with a bowed top lip, and a plush bottom lip. His cheeks looked soft, and Chanyeol suddenly had the desire to touch them.

But touch them, he did not. He pushed himself up, from where he was on his back, forcing Baekhyun to have to shift away.  
“I’m fine,” he mumbled out. “I just got lost in thought.”

A light laugh left the man in front of him, and the taller’s eyes widened in surprise at the sound.

“A terrible place to get lost in thought, Park Chanyeol. Let’s finish the night out without another hitch, how bout it?” Baekhyun suggested, before standing up and offering a gloved hand to the other. A hand which Chanyeol took, and he let the shorter assist him in standing up.

And without another hitch, they finished the night out. It took four hours to completely control the blaze, the hours bleeding on and on. The spectators in the neighbourhood that had gathered at one time, gradually went into their houses as the night went on, leaving just the responders to their tasks.

Chanyeol was rolling up a hose that had previously led from Station 20’s tanker – now unhooked and ready to be stored away for future use – when Baekhyun came up behind him, effectively scaring the shit out of him.

“Good work tonight!” The shorter man chirped, his helmet gone now – revealing a shock of blonde hair, and his bunker coat missing, leaving him in just his gear pants with blaring red suspenders over top his job shirt. He was much smaller than Chanyeol anticipated, and it left the taller feeling quite flustered, what with Baekhyun smiling up at him.

“Thank you,” he said after a moment, ruffling his sweat soaked hair, his own helmet laying some place off. “It was nice working with someone new. We don’t work with your station often,” he added after a moment, securing the hose as he tossed it over his shoulder, straightening up now to meet Baekhyun’s eyes.

The shorter man suddenly looked nervous, feet shuffling where he stood.  
“Wanna go out for a drink once the scene is all cleaned up?” Baekhyun then asked, once again catching Chanyeol off guard.  
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to! Or if you’re busy, that’s fine.” The other quickly added, sucking in a breath, “just some of us guys from 34 tend to go out after a successful job.”

Chanyeol couldn’t help but smile at the other, followed by a small chuckle.  
“Mind if I invite someone too?” He questioned and received a shake of the head in return.

“Invite whoever you want! The more the merrier!”

It’s not like Chanyeol had to be at the station at seven a.m. tomorrow morning, but he wasn’t complaining. Believe it or not, the taller thought Baekhyun was very pretty; and whether he swings that way or not, he would rather enjoy the company of this other first responder quite a bit longer.

After getting the name of the bar he was to meet Baekhyun at, Chanyeol walked off and headed up towards the Station 20 trucks that were up the street. After storing the hose, he looked around for the lanky brunet by the name of Sehun, knowing he had to drive one of the trucks back to the station, and would still be on scene. It didn’t take long, because while Junmyeon had an obnoxious white helmet, Sehun had an obnoxious red one. Where they got these, instead of using the traditional black, is beyond Chanyeol; but Sehun stood, a bit away, helmet tucked under his arm, as blinding as the sun.

“Hun!” Called Chanyeol, waving the other over from where he spoke with an EMT.

Almost immediately, the other’s head lifted, and he made a wave of goodbye before jogging up to Chanyeol. The closer the other got, the more the taller noticed how dirty he was. Chanyeol briefly wondered what he had done tonight, but of course he would find out later; if the younger accompanied him.

“What up?” Sehun said, a cheeky – yet lazy – grin on his face.

Chanyeol informed him that he got invited out and would like the other to accompany him. At the mention of alcohol, the younger perked up. Sehun was far too easy. His party nature from college has yet to leave him, and it showed on some occasions.

“Some guy from 34 invited you? That’s pretty chill. Let’s do it. I need a way to unwind,” Sehun grinned, bumping into the taller.

Chanyeol ruffled his hair once again, “he’s not just some guy. He’s super nice; I think you’ll like him. His name is Baekhyun.”

The knowing smile from Sehun almost made Chanyeol want to punch him in the face. He congratulated himself on the amazing amount of restraint he had and settled on sighing instead.  
“Don’t gimme that look. I’ll meet you at the station and we can drive there together you ass,” he complained, receiving a laugh and nod in return.

 

Forty-five minutes later, and the two firefighters were pulling in front of the bar in Chanyeol’s small compact car. Still smelling of smoke, but much more presentable than they were nearly an hour prior, the two men parked and got out of the car.

“Seems like a decent place,” Chanyeol heard Sehun comment, and the taller glanced over with a grunt of agreement.

The bar was simply called Twenty-Four and looked like a rather clean establishment, with nice wooden siding and beer advertisements in the windows. He wasn’t complaining since it seemed like the guys at 34 had good tastes.

Pushing through the double doors, the faint thrum of a guitar could be heard through speakers somewhere located in the bar. It wasn’t too loud to be deafening, for a person to have to shout over, but it wasn’t too quiet, so you couldn’t make out the song. There were a few patrons seated at the bar specifically, some in conversation, others nursing internal wounds no one would ask about; but only one group was seated at a table.

In the back, Chanyeol could make out Baekhyun’s blood hair, and he gave a tug on Sehun’s shirt sleeve before motioning with his head. Together, the two made their way over.

Baekhyun, thankfully, was the first to notice them. His lips stretched into an easy smile, showcasing white teeth, as he gave a wave.

“Chanyeol and friend!” He called out to them, causing the other four party members to turn heads and stare at the approaching men.

Chanyeol found himself grinning, at not only the way Baekhyun addressed Sehun, but also at the way the shorter was staring only at him, his brown eyes sparkling under the dim lighting of the bar. Once their approach was completed, Chanyeol himself gave the smallest wave.

“Hey,” He greeted, suddenly feeling awkward as five pairs of eyes didn’t leave him.  
“T-This is Sehun. He’s a fellow firefighter, at station 20,” he gestured toward the younger, who gave a closed lip smile and a wave of his own.

A chorus of “hi, hellos and nice to meet yous” echoed from the four that were not Baekhyun, and after so many seconds of standing, a man with curled lips let out an exasperated sound.

“Don’t just stand there!” He proclaimed, before pointing at two empty seats.  
“Sit down!”

Chanyeol found his voice rather whiny, but he listened anyway, finding himself in a seat across from Baekhyun, and next to someone with copper brown hair and tanned skin.

The guy grinned, before stretching out a hand.  
“Name’s Jongin. Ignore Jongdae over there, he’s probably already drunk.” Said man said, and as Chanyeol reached to shake his hand, a whine from the fella by the name of Jongdae declared that he was not drunk.  
Chanyeol certainly didn’t believe him.

There was a nudge of a boot against Chanyeol’s shin, and his eyes were drawn to Baekhyun. The shorter male had his head leaning casually against the palm of his hand, and a lazy smile was on his face.  
“So that’s Jongdae and Jongin,” he began, “as you now know. Then there’s Yixing,” he pointed to the far end of the table where a black-haired man sat, head tilted back as if he was dozing, but at the sound of his name he straightened up and offered one of the kindest smiles Chanyeol had ever seen.  
“He’s Chinese and probably too tired to function, but he’s never missed a night out and refused to do so even now,” at those words, Yixing offered a thumbs up, before his head was falling back again. Chanyeol had to resist the urge to laugh.  
“Last but not least is our dear assistant captain, Kyungsoo.”

Baekhyun motioned to the round-faced man who seemed to be having a rather friendly conversation with the newly acquainted Sehun. At the call of his name, he looked up and Chanyeol was greeted with naturally wide eyes and a heart smile. He seemed friendly enough. Actually, everyone seemed friendly, and that calmed Chanyeol’s nerves about meeting new people immensely.

A clap of hands brought his attention back to Baekhyun, and more importantly, pretty and dainty fingers. Chanyeol felt his throat go dry, before he met the eyes of the other.  
“Now that you know everyone… Let’s drink!” He chirped, and a beer was practically shoved in his hands.

___________

He wasn’t a lightweight, by any means, but he also didn’t drink too often. Five beers in, and he felt unsteady. He could hear laughing, almost like the tinkling of ice against a glass on a warm summer morning. Sehun and Kyungsoo had disappeared at some point – he thinks around three beers in – and he didn’t see where they went. Yixing had went home after the persistence of Jongdae, saying if he wasn’t going to drink, why come with them?  
Now it was just the four, Jongin and Jongdae, Chanyeol and Baekhyun. This wasn’t good; he had to work in the morning.

“So, Chan-ie-yeol,” came the voice of Jongdae, who leaned over the wooden bar table with a grin on his face, upturning his kitty-curls. “You’re pretty cute. Do you swing that way? Asking for a friend.”

The taller felt warmth spread to his cheeks, and he knew he had flushed in front of the remaining patrons at the table. His eyes inadvertently shifted to Baekhyun, before finding their way to Jongdae. He spluttered, looking for words in his drunken stupor.

Before he could say anything, however, Jongdae raised a hand – halting whatever words Chanyeol was searching for.  
“Damn you’re easy,” the shorter male said, “maybe it’s cause you’re wasted but your eyes just gave me the answer I was looking for. Come on Jongin, let’s leave these two alone.”

Chanyeol was still searching for words even when the taller of the two firefighters stood, and began to walk off, arms looped over each other’s shoulders for balance.  
What had just happened?

Chanyeol found himself looking towards Baekhyun, hoping for answers, but the other was looking down, almost in a sheepish manner.

“Hey?”

Baekhyun looked up once he heard Chanyeol’s voice and let a shy smile stretch his lips.  
“Sorry about them,” he said, blinking wide eyes at the other. “Jongdae’s kind of a matchmaker and w-well, he heard me say I thought you were cute and well the rest is history. But hey, I know we just met and even though Jongdae thinks you answered him, you really didn’t. He’s just weird. If you don’t swing my way that’s fine, and I’m sorry if you’re uncomforta-“

It was funny, because Baekhyun talked just a bit too much. But Chanyeol rather liked his voice.  
However, Chanyeol also liked how Baekhyun’s lips felt against his own – for he had stretched himself across the table and grabbed the shorter male by the collar of his shirt, meshing their lips together in an attempt to halt the other’s blabbering.  
It seemed to have worked, by the quick response he got, and the mouth granting him access almost immediately.

Chanyeol had to force himself back for air, his chest heaving as he stared at the surprised expression on the other’s face. It was cute, the taller thought. He could see the twinkling of lights in those brown eyes, and a pink tongue poked out to swipe at a bottom lip.

“I have to work tomorrow,” Chanyeol found himself mumbling, suddenly far more sober than he imagined he would be.

A wicked grin crossed Baekhyun's features then, and the taller felt a hand curling at the nape of his neck. It was a welcome touch; the other’s hands were so warm.  
Suddenly, there was a mouth pressing just by his ear, and a hot breath smoothing over it.

“I have to be at work at six. It’s three-forty-eight. I think we can squeeze something in.”

Chanyeol felt heat spread through his veins like wildfire at the breathless tone of Baekhyun’s voice, and next thing he knew he was reaching for his coat and keys, fumbling to get a few crumbled bills out of his pocket to pay for the drinks; all while a very pretty first responder was pulling persistently on his hand.

What a day he’s going to have tomorrow.


End file.
